FCNS Blenheim
* |role=*Flagship *Ship-to-ship combat *Carrier |commission=3/6/2413 |firstsight= |destroyed= |retired=2418 |lastsight= |battles= |affiliation=* *Free Commonwealth of Falkirk |fleet= |taskforce= |owners= |namedcrew= |captains=*Rear Admiral Dean Drake }} The FCNS ''Blenheim'' ( : BB-027) is the lead ship of the experimental and later cancelled line of battleships built to test new technologies and strategies in the developing art of space combat. The most advanced and powerful vessel ever built at the time of her construction, the Blenheim has an armament consisting of a mixture of kinetic and energy weapons - one of the few ships to do so before contact was made with the Covenant. Despite being built for testing, the Blenheim is a fully-operational ship of the line, a necessary decision in case the colonial tensions during its development exploded into full-scale war. After being commissioned on the 3rd June 2413, the Blenheim was launched to pacify the most hostile regions in known space, being commanded by Rear Admiral Dean Drake. Operating out of the deep-space drydock GJ 1005-Alpha, the Blenheim would target known pirate outposts, investigate anomalies of significant interest and participate in interstellar exercises. When war was finally declared, the Blenheim was immediately dispatched to secure the nearby space of any rebelling colonies in hopes of destroying any of the rumoured warships the rebels had at their disposal - because few such ships existed, she would see very little action in the conflict. With no enemies to be deployed against, the Blenheim was disarmed and was mothballed, turned into a memorial for the lives lost in the conflict. It would remain this way for almost a century, when she was refitted by her new owners to lead Falkirk's quest for independence in space. History Construction and Early Service With a period of unrest surfacing in the colonies occurring after the turn of the 25th century, were forced to consider the very real possibility that conflict could occur within the next decade. While the UNSC military was well underway towards updating their arsenal for the modern era, there were concerns that the rising number of unregistered armed vessels could manifest themselves in the first proper space battles; a possibility which would render their fleet of transports vulnerable to raids. As a result, they authorised the creation of a fleet of warships designed specifically for testing new weapons technologies and construction doctrines. It was within this programme that the Blenheim was born from. Whereas the majority of this "test fleet" underwent construction in the shipyards, the Blenheim was fabricated in the Jovian Superheavy Drydock over because no other shipyard could accommodate the massive size of the upcoming warship. Beginning construction in 2406 with her hull being spaceworthy by 2408, she would not be launched until four years later, with the delays being blamed on the integration of her cutting-edge and . Such were the delays that some in HIGHCOM wanted to scrap the ship and construct several carriers in its place, however the need for a large test platform and a possible deterrent towards rebels was deemed more important, and thus construction was allowed to proceed. When the Blenheim was finally launched in 2413, the battleship was immediately sent on various tests from the research station Red Dwarf''Named after the 80's space series of the same name, located in Oort cloud. Operated by technicians who were permitted to work with experimental technology, the ''Blenheim began testing the viability of heavy energy weapons in various environments. Records from these tests would remain classified for more than century later, although it's clear that lasers and magnetically-accelerated weapons were the most successful. Despite this success, the trials were wrought with danger; no less than a dozen emergencies were referred in declassified records, believed to be severe enough to require the ship to undergo some state of repair. Falkirian War for Independence Specifications Layout Armament While the Blenheim's weapons are designed to be easily changed on a per-mission basis, after being adapted for combat use the battleship maintained a fairly standardised arsenal. It had two main guns, an Experimental Energy Weapon-Model 44-Large-sized (EEW-44L) long-range laser and a large coilgun, both of whose barrels extend out of a structure at the front. Requiring nearly all of the battleship's entire power output, the 200-metre long laser cannon is the ship's longest-ranged weapon. With an effective range of 200,000 kilometres, the laser fires a near-invisible 0.01-second beam that can defeat even the thickest of armour plating. While in theory the EEW44L specifically could hit a target at distances further than that, officers are not advised to fire it further than its stated range because the laser grows weaker with range; at 275,000 kilometres the energy carried by the beam is almost half of what is initially fired. As if that isn't enough, the cannon needs a long recharge and cooldown period - it takes three minutes for it to be sufficiently charged to fire again. Lastly, the focusing lens and emission equipment must be replaced, as both are destroyed by the intense heat. All these drawbacks ensured that the Blenheim is the only UNSC-built warship with an energy weapon as its main gun, until the emergence of the and their inspired them to revisit the concept. The second main weapon is a XMX-01 VIPER magnetically-accelerated coilgun, eighty metres in length. Originally built as a railgun but changed when it became obvious the coilguns were far more reliable, the coilgun is the battleship's main tool for the destruction of enemy ships. Overly-reinforced to prevent the weapon from falling apart after several successive firings, the XMX-01 is outgunned by even those on frigates, providing a fifth of the stopping power of modern designs. The reason it is built so small is because its intended four-metre Tungsten slug would explode in the barrel if it is built larger. However, with modern upgrades installed by the Commonwealth of Falkirk, the coilgun has two significant advantages. Firstly, it can refire within fifteen seconds, making it more adaptable in combat. Secondly, it can fire missiles without their warheads exploding, making them incredibly difficult to intercept with point-defense. A unique piece of equipment, the XM-812 Magnetic Pulse Round is unusual compared to other munitions because it's intended for use below enemy armour. Beneath its heavily-armoured shell made of starship plating, the MPR has a super-heavy-duty electromagnet and quick-discharging capacitor which cannot last for more than half a second. Once activated, it fires two pulses, with the second attracting almost all metallic debris towards it. While highly destructive, especially when near the superstructure of warships, the MPR also has a curious side-effect of damaging all electronics within a four-hundred-metre radius by damaging the electrical cables themselves. The MPR can be mounted to a missile package or fired by a coilgun, with unique tactics employing it to redirect kinetic fire on a single point. These unique effects did not outweigh its expensive pricetag, with each round being comparable to the price of a small frigate, so it was never found beyond the Blenheim. It did, however, inspire the similar-in-concept Dubai-class immobiliser, a post-war ship designed to trap retreating freighters. Armour & Superstructure Power & Propulsion Units Crew Notes Category:Insurrectionist ships Category:CC Ships Category:Gaelic Saga Category:Battleships Category:Insurrectionist ships Category:Individual UNSC Ships